New Cars in India 2011 2012

d drive

The D–segment is abuzz with activity. Here we feature three diesel cars – Laura and Corolla Altis – and the petrol Civic (since it does not have a diesel variant) to spell out which is the best for you.

DRIVING & HANDLING

The Honda Civic is fun to drive—plenty of hp, though could have used more torque. It was meant to be a high-revving daily driver and performance is not a concern with this car. The McPherson strut suspension with high caster and high trail has enhanced the responsive steering feel and stable straight runs at high speed. I pushed the Chevrolet Cruze a bit and found the car that rolls little and handles tidily, though it understreers on tight corners. Cut to city traffic and the drag at lower gears is palpable. The late-action clutch almost hurts and though reasonably accurate , an artificially strong self-centering action for the steering takes getting used to. The  automatic transmission takes care of the turbo lag persists.

         

The Corolla diesel behaves identicals to the petrol variants when it comes to driving & handling. When the going gets tough on bad roads, the suspension gives away. The Laura, on the other hand, ticks all the boxes when it comes to driving and handling. From the mountains to the highways, throw the cars into a corner and goes where desired. The suspension is great and bad roads are tackled effortlessly. The ground clearance is low and there are intances when the car scrapes against the road. The steering is perfect and very responsive which makes driving this beast a real pleasure.

EXTERIORS

The Cruze is distincts from the front. Sporting a large grille, the car benefits from a low stance. The ceiling curves aerodynamically into the rear, giving it a graceful look from the side. Regardings the Civic, people will agree that it look is pleasing and this is where Honda excels over other Japanese manufactures in building cars for the masses. They tend not to make a polarizing love-it-or-hate-it stylings. While the earlier Corolla looked plain, the new one looks more spiced up because of its headlights. The Altis follows the design cues of the Camry which makes it bold and attractive. The petrol and diesel variants look similar except a new mesh grille in the diesel. Not blood enough to stand out on its own, Skoda Laura and superb do  look similar. Compared to the earlier Laura, the grille is wider with more chrome work. The tail lamps receive some treatment to make them more4 contemporary and so does the rear bumpers.

INTERIORS

The interiors of the cruze are appealing with blue instruments clusters. However, after you spend time in the cabin you realize that all is not well. For a car priced at close to Rs.13 lakh, the Cruze’s plastics have a tacky feel. The situation is particularly bad as a low roof makes it difficult for tall people to fit in. The Civic always boasts of  spacecraft-style interiors and after the car for 15 minutes, the took starts growing on you. Sitting behind the wheel, you lose sense of how deep the speedo is tucked away. It actually appears as if it is stacked almost directly on top of the tachometer. My suggestion to anyone thinking about purchasing this car is makes sure y ou evaluate  this driving because glancing at the layout is a lot  different than staring at it.

         

          The interiors of the Altis look a tad dull when compared to the other three. The dash does sport a beige-grey combo with fake wood inserts but the central instruments cluster is basic and could have been improved. The Space For  the near passengers is adequate with a near flat floor at the rear which means the car can  take a third person at the back seat without any discomfort. As with all Toyota cars, the quality of the materials is preety good.

         

          The Laura islike any other Skoda car-luxurios and spacious but the rear AC vent (although a great addition to the India heat) constrains the leg room for the third passenger at the rear. The big audio console, with all the knobs sporting chrome touch, dominates much of what the car looks like inside.

ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION

The 1991 cc engine of the Cruze delivers power of 150@4,000 rpm and a torque of  372@2,600 rpm and is an obsolute pleasures to drive on highway.

On the open road, 0-100kmph comes  in about  9.4 seconds, and the 16V VCDi engine comes up trumps on performance. The Civic is on the more refined petrol variant only but the car lives lives up to its expectations. While the iVTEC engine delivers 132PS of power at a torque, its torque 180 Nm pales when compared to the Laura or the Cruze. However, the peppy engine reaches 0-100kmph in about 10.5 seconds.

          For the base models of the Laura, there is the SOHC unit delving out 110 horses@4,200 rpm of power and a decent 250Nm of torque @1,500 rpm. The DOHC unit though pumps out a 140PS @4,000rpm of power and a 320 Nm of torque, matching the Cruze in terms of specs. It does a 0-100 sprint in 9.92 second and comes close to matching the Cruze again On Paper, Toyota’s engine may seem like a complete write-off. The D-4D series of engines is the smallest of the lot giving out 88.4PS @3,800 rpm of power and 205 Nm of torque. While it has the lowest specs compared to the other three in the pack, the engine makes a linear and absolutely flat torque curves. The Altis’s  transmission also features a 6-speed manual gearbox which has excellent gear ratios. The 0-100km/h mark coming up in 14.68 second is understandable and the car runs out of breadth on highway if the 160km/h is breached. But the Altis feels more than peppy in city driving.   

                           Laura           Civic           Cruze        Corolla Altis(D)

Power(PS)            140         132        150         88.4

Torque(NM)         320         180         323         205

0-100(seconds)     9.92       10.25       9.4        14.68

Priced(Rs.lakh)    17.98      13.82     13.95      13.75

           

LAST WORD

Each of these cars is excellent to own in the segment and it al boils down to a lot of personal choices when it comes to buying. Is the outrageous Cruze  the better looker or the stunning Civic, the new bold Altis better or the conservative Laura? The decision to own one is also affected by the price, service and the kind of usage.